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Technology has taken control over our everyday life. Everything we use has some kind of connection with the computer. Whether, it’s a state of the art glass building or a car that starts by the push of a button our world has made a transformation from being manual operational to technical operational. To ensure that students are prepared for the future, the board of education should make a transformation also by extending school hours and the number of days that students attend school so that students will be more prepared for the future. Increasing classroom time will help decrease the high dropout rate and grades will improve.
The high dropout rate could one day affect the future technology plans in America because there are not enough students acquiring education on the college level. Students have several reasons why they drop out of school. Gangs, drugs, dysfunctional homes, and pregnancy are some of the most common reasons why students drop out. Because the problem really occurs in the classroom, students do not comprehend the material in a timely manner. Therefore, by extending the school hours, the dropout rate should decrease and grades should increase because of the extra class time.
Gilbert Cruz, a reporter from Time magazine notes, “Educators have been eyeing more class time for Decades. “(2). Adding more time allows the students more one on one time with the teacher and it allows more time for study halls. Extending school hours and the number of days might also help decrease the teen crime rate. A lot of teens get in trouble during and after school hours when adults are at work. Therefore, not having any adult supervision teen crimes seem to occur in between the morning, late afternoon and during the summer.
I think schools need to incorporate more courses into the curriculum. By, adding a debate club, drama class, or theater to the curriculum it would encourage them to want to learn more in school, and students won’t have that lapse time in between school and when their parents get off work to get in trouble or hang out with peer pressuring friends. By adding these courses students will be exposed to more positive peers.. Keeping students in school about two hours extra a day will keep them off the street and in the house with an overwhelming amount of school work.
On the other hand, unless the teachers make assignments more interesting and apply other learning procedures besides giving them a book and saying read these chapters, students will continue to be less enthused about school. Adding more school time might be a good idea but if the teachers are not doing their part then the money that’s being invested is a waste. Cruz, describes, “Critics of extended school time point to the fact that it’s expensive to keep school open longer. “(2). For instance, a school adds a computer related course to their curriculum. More money has to be available for computers and the set-up of the network system.
When adding more time some of the lower- income school districts want have the extra money available for the increase in staff pay bills, and the additions of new courses. Last, “If you could add an extra course to the school’s curriculum, what you would choose? ” Involving the students and learning their likes and dislikes will give better insight into what students actually care about learning. The more hands on the course, the more interested the student. With the longer hours at school and courses that aren’t boring the students to death, students will want to attend school because there is something new to learn every day.